EPA proposal would reduce NGS emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a supplemental proposal to reduce emissions from Navajo Generating Station, one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the country.

NOx not only impairs visibility by increasing haze, but also emits pollutants that affect public health. The EPA’s proposed action gives the power plant several options that will substantially improve air quality and visibility.

The EPA issued a proposal on Feb. 5 to reduce by 73 percent the visibility impacts of the plant on 11 nearby national parks and wilderness including the Grand Canyon. The agency then asked the public to submit alternative scenarios that would achieve greater visibility through different mechanisms.

The coalition of stakeholders, known as the Technical Work Group, in response, developed and submitted to EPA in July an alternative that would establish a lifetime cap in NOx emissions as late as 2044.

The TWG is composed of Salt River Project, the Department of Interior, the Navajo Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, Environmental Defense Fund, Western Resources Advocates, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

The supplemental proposal adds TWG’s alternative as a third option that is currently available for public comment before final agency action. The EPA conducted a review of the TWG alternative to ensure that it meets the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The EPA is requesting comment by Jan. 6, 2014 on the supplemental proposal and the initial February proposal.

The public will have five opportunities to attend open houses and public hearings next week at the LeChee Chapter House (Nov. 12), the Cultural Arts Building on the Page High campus (Nov. 12), Hopi Day School in Kykotsmovi Village (Nov. 13), the Phoenix Convention Center (Nov. 14), and the Proscenium Theatre on the Pima Community College West Campus in Tucson (Nov. 15).

Northern Arizona University recently received a $1 million grant from the Department of Education to prepare American Indian Educators for principalships in Native-serving schools.

The university says the four-year grant will provide extra funding to the American Indian School Leadership Project, an initiative designed to train Native teachers and to improve schools on the reservations.

The College of Education, on campus, has certified more than 100 American Indian teachers since 1998 to serve as principals in Native-serving schools throughout the country. Past participants, however, received a principal certificate that provides Native teachers the opportunity to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership, which paves the way for principalship at a regional school.

Joseph Martin, the principal investigator on the grant, says the dropout rate for Native students is at more than 40 percent. But the need for a well-founded principal leadership is key.

Nevertheless, the project strives to meet such challenges and provide for student success by focusing on instructional and culturally responsive leadership and assessment literacy.

The university says the program begins at the beginning of next year and expects to add 25, kindergarden through grade 12 principals by 2017 to serve in schools on the Hopi, San Carlos, White Mountain Apache, and Navajo communities as well as Navajo Technical College.